Chapter 165: The Arrival

Li Lin looked at the other person with great surprise; he had not expected An Xin to be afraid of paper men.

Moreover, it was still daytime.

These little paper men were pink, with big eyes, and were incredibly cute.

Li Lin had designed them this way precisely so people would not be afraid of such things.

It was understandable for an ordinary person to be afraid, but An Xin was the eldest senior brother of the Tianyi Gate, with formidable strength, yet he was afraid too!

"Since you are afraid of the little paper men, why did you want to swap with me?" Li Lin asked, puzzled.

An Xin glanced at the little paper men running wildly on the ground, swallowed hard, his eyes darting about, and said, "It is not that I wanted to learn it; the elders simply felt that since our sect will eventually recruit Spirit Hunters, we must at least teach them some powerful techniques. Now that we have the Fallen Thunder Incantation, then... the Paper-Stitching Art, being such a famous technique, must also be present."

Li Lin nodded, then looked at the man lying on the ground and walked over.

"Who are you?" Li Lin asked. "Why were you loitering outside my door?"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood.

Although An Xin had injured him, he had held back and did not kill him outright.

He raised his head to look at Li Lin and said grievously, "I was just looking for someone; I had no intention of doing anything."

"Then why were you being sneaky and trying to escape?"

The man looked at the little paper men surrounding him, his expression becoming even more aggrieved: "When these things come running out, I certainly have to run."

An Xin felt this made sense, because he too was very afraid of these moving paper figures.

But Li Lin did not see it that way.

Regardless, acting sneaky in front of one's room was mostly a sign of trouble.

"Send this person to the government office," Li Lin said with a smile. "I will interrogate him personally, and he should then tell the truth. Brother An, please wait a moment."

An Xin nodded.

Li Lin waved his hand, and all the little paper men ran back, lying down again in Li Lin's palm, stacked one upon another, no longer moving.

Then Li Lin put these paper men away.

Just as Li Lin was about to grab this man and take him to the government office, he did not expect that several people had surrounded them from outside.

One of them was waving a paper fan, dressed as a scholar, and looked somewhat familiar.

Li Lin then remembered; it was the legitimate eldest son of the Wang family.

An Xin looked at the other person and frowned slightly as well.

Now that Li Lin had retrieved the little paper men, An Xin's state had returned to normal.

"The Wang family's eldest young master, Wang Yunzhi," An Xin walked to Li Lin's side and explained in a low voice.

Li Lin nodded lightly.

Wang Yunzhi walked in, clasped his fists, and said, "You two, why did you injure my family's Retainer?"

"He tried to steal something," Li Lin said with a smile.

"I did not!" the man lying on the ground shouted with difficulty. "Young Master, I did not!"

"This gentleman, you are making false accusations," Wang Yunzhi said with a squinting smile, like a fox.

Li Lin, however, smiled and said, "You say we injured your Retainer; is that not a false accusation? False accusation against an official carries an increased penalty, Young Master Wang."

An Xin suddenly looked at Li Lin, his eyes full of disbelief.

He had always thought Li Lin was a very understanding... very reasonable person.

But now it seemed Li Lin was lying with his eyes open... or rather, his skill at pinning blame was extremely strong.

Wang Yunzhi pointed at the crowd around them: "Everyone saw it!"

Li Lin looked around and asked with a grin, "Who saw it!"

The onlookers, including the shop assistants and the owner inside, all averted their eyes.

At this moment, Li Lin was wearing black official robes; who would dare to act recklessly?

An Xin hissed!

He finally understood the difference between people of the Jianghu and officials of the government.

Li Lin smiled and said, "Young Master Wang, you see, no one saw it. On the contrary, someone saw your Retainer here, acting sneaky at my lodging place."

Wang Yunzhi looked left and right and asked angrily, "Who saw it!"

He had expected no one to dare answer, but An Xin said with a smile, "I saw it."

"You!" Wang Yunzhi pointed at An Xin and said angrily, "My Wang family has no grudge against the Tianyi Gate; why must you, Young Hero An, kick someone when they are down?"

"There was no grudge before, but now there is," An Xin said with a smile.

Li Lin looked at Wang Yunzhi and said, "I suspect this person was also dispatched by you, Young Master, to ambush me, so please come with me as well, Young Master Wang."

"Do not push people too far!" Wang Yunzhi became angry. "This is Jincheng, not your Yulin County."

"But no matter where it is, I am an official," Li Lin said, picking up the long spear beside him and stepping forward slowly.

If the other party resisted, he would take action.

And just at this moment, several more people entered from outside the door.

The leader was the Young Master of the Wang family, Wang Tianyou.

"County Commandant Li, please wait; do me this favor," Wang Tianyou came before Li Lin, clasped his fists, and said very earnestly.

Li Lin looked at Wang Tianyou and saw the pleading in the other's eyes.

The Wang family, after all, was considered a prominent family in Jincheng and also cared about face.

If Wang Yunzhi were truly caught by Li Lin and locked up in the government office, the Wang family's reputation would plummet.

Li Lin pointed at the man lying nearby and asked, "Then what about this person?"

"He is indeed a Retainer of my Wang family; currently, it is unclear why he acted this way," Wang Tianyou said with a bitter smile. "But I will give you an explanation for this matter later, and I owe County Commandant Li a great favor; I beg you."

Li Lin nodded: "I need to know the outcome."

"I will."

At this moment, Wang Yunzhi's face looked very ugly; the problem he could not solve, his younger brother could accomplish with ease.

This made him feel very frustrated.

Li Lin ignored Wang Yunzhi and looked at An Xin: "Let us go outside and talk."

"Good."

The two went outside, exchanged the secret manuals, and An Xin cupped his fist, saying: "County Lieutenant Li, is there any possibility in the future that you will be promoted to serve as an official in our Jincheng?"

Just now, the scene where Li Lin handled Wang Yunzhi left him deeply impressed.

Truly an official, able to make nonsense sound so legitimate; indeed, this is something people of the Jianghu cannot do.

Li Lin shook his head: "This matter is hard to say."

Actually, Li Lin felt there was hope.

After all... Huang Yan is an official in Jincheng; with some maneuvering, it could be done.

But Li Lin did not want to come.

Yulin County is the temple town of Lady Tree Immortal; it is one of our own, naturally having a powerful ally standing behind us.

Many things can be accomplished.

Going to Jincheng would instead make many things become restrictive and binding.

Unless the temple town of Jincheng Commandery could also be given to Lady Tree Immortal to serve, then it would be about right.

"That is truly a pity."

If Li Lin came, the Tianyi Gate would gain another patron.

The two chatted casually for a few moments, then parted ways.

Li Lin arrived at the rural army camp at the Chengnan Gate, but saw someone pacing outside; upon seeing Li Lin, he rushed over, knelt on one knee, cupped his fist, and said: "County Lieutenant Li, Xiao is willing to serve and die under your command; please accept me."

This person was Xiao Chunzhu, the Third Senior Brother of the Lingxiao Sect.

Li Lin looked at him with considerable surprise: "You actually did not leave? Where are your junior brothers?"

"They have returned," Xiao Chunzhu said helplessly, "but if I return, it will most likely be more danger than safety. The elders of the sect will not let me go."

"Because your Seventh Junior Brother died?"

"Yes!" Xiao Chunzhu sighed, "He possessed extraordinary talent and was a key talent the sect intended to cultivate. The fact that they allowed several of us senior and junior brothers to escort him back shows this clearly."

Li Lin nodded, indicating understanding: "But why should I accept you? I am merely a small County Lieutenant."

"My lord is young yet already a County Lieutenant," Xiao Chunzhu looked at Li Lin, his eyes full of confidence, "in time, you will surely attain a high position."

(End of this chapter)